British political veteran steers Facebook’s Trump choice

Written by Adam Satariano and Cecilia Kang
When Facebook barred President Donald Trump from its service in January, Mark Zuckerberg, the chief government, defended the choice in a Facebook submit the morning after the siege of the Capitol. But the primary draft was written the evening earlier than by Nick Clegg, a former British deputy prime minister who leads the corporate’s public affairs.
More than per week later, Clegg urged Zuckerberg to let a brand new exterior panel determine whether or not to let Trump again on Facebook, staff concerned within the deliberations stated. Handing over management of probably the most consequential free-speech selections of the web age was dangerous recommendation, and a few within the firm puzzled if Zuckerberg would agree.
“I defer to you, Nick,” Zuckerberg stated, in keeping with Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for Facebook who was on the assembly.
On Wednesday the panel, the Facebook Oversight Board, upheld the choice to droop Trump’s account, stopping him from posting to Facebook or Instagram. But the board stated Facebook had made a mistake imposing an “indefinite” ban, and it referred to as on the corporate to revisit the ban inside six months, to both make it everlasting or set a timeline for reinstatement.
Clegg performed maybe the most important behind-the-scenes position in selections round Trump’s account, colleagues stated, an unlikely place for a British political veteran in such an necessary second for American free speech. He developed the principle justification utilized by Zuckerberg for barring Trump, and he oversaw the creation of the board, together with the collection of its members.
The board’s ruling on Trump assessments the argument that Clegg championed inside Facebook: Instead of taking all of the accountability for moderation, the corporate ought to enlist a quasi-judicial board of out of doors consultants to make the ultimate choice. Many have questioned Facebook’s effort to create a world arbiter of speech, together with some firm staff, arguing partly that it lacks legitimacy as a result of the board is Facebook-funded and stacked with hand-selected representatives.
But Clegg has stated that absent guidelines from governments, Facebook had few good choices apart from making a statelike establishment of its personal.

Clegg, 54, declined to remark for this text. But Facebook made executives obtainable to debate his position on the firm, many on the situation that their names not be printed. Clegg additionally related The New York Times with a number of individuals exterior Facebook to talk favorably of him. The Times additionally spoke with members of the oversight board, lecturers, political figures, civil society teams and others accustomed to Clegg’s work.
Clegg joined Facebook in 2018 to supervise its coverage and public relations group after his political star had light. The chief of the left-leaning Liberal Democrats, he was voted out of workplace in 2017 after alienating supporters by becoming a member of Britain’s Conservative Party in forming a coalition authorities. After Britain elevated faculty tuition, cutouts of Clegg have been hanged in effigy by protesters in London.
Facebook needed Clegg to assist restore its relationships with regulators, political leaders and the media after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, when information improperly pulled from Facebook was utilized by to create voter profiles. Clegg’s worldwide expertise and luxury in 5 languages — English, Spanish, French, German and Dutch — appealed to the American-centric firm.
Friends stated Clegg had initially been reluctant to hitch Facebook, one of many world’s most polarizing firms. But he needed to be again on the heart of necessary political and coverage debates. In a memo outlining how he envisioned the position, he argued that it was unsustainable for a personal firm like Facebook, slightly than democratically elected governments, to have a lot energy, particularly on speech-related points.
“My advice was strongly to go for it,” stated Tony Blair, the previous British prime minister, whom Clegg spoke with earlier than taking the job, “because you’re going to be part of one of the most powerful companies in the world at a moment of enormous change in the world, and when technology is at the heart of that change.”
Inside Facebook, the place Zuckerberg leans on a bunch of buddies and early staff for counsel, Clegg earned the belief of his new boss. At the corporate’s headquarters, the place proximity to Zuckerberg is energy, Clegg’s desk was positioned close by. He orchestrated a visit by Europe with Zuckerberg, assembly with European Union leaders in Brussels and President Emmanuel Macron of France in Paris.
Since Clegg’s arrival, Facebook has shifted a few of its coverage positions. It now seems extra accepting of regulation and better taxes. He overcame reluctance from Zuckerberg and others within the firm to ban political advertisements within the weeks earlier than Election Day final yr. And he was the principle inside supporter for lately introduced product adjustments that give customers extra management over what posts they see of their Facebook feeds.
“He has a track record of knowing what it’s like to work inside a Cabinet that needs to make decisions quickly and move at the speed of a country, or in this case a platform,” stated Chris Cox, Facebook’s chief product officer, who labored with Clegg on the user-control adjustments.
Critics say Clegg’s position is an try by Facebook to make use of a revered world political determine to melt its picture. Despite pledges to just accept new authorities regulation, the corporate continues to combat sturdy oversight, policymakers stated. Others stated adjustments made by Clegg didn’t tackle core issues with the corporate’s privacy-invading enterprise mannequin, which is optimized to maintain individuals scrolling their Facebook feeds, amplifying divisive and inflammatory content material and exaggerating political divisions in society.
“‘Are you sure you’re on the right side here?’ That is the question that will get thrown back at Clegg,” stated Damian Collins, a Conservative member of the British Parliament who led an investigation of social media in politics. “He’s taken a lot of money to go work for a company that doesn’t meet the highest ethical standards.”
On Wednesday, the board’s choice pissed off some critics, who stated it confirmed a stage of forms that the previous politician had dropped at the corporate.

“We did not need a ruling from an illegitimate Facebook board to understand that the corporation was not prepared to address governmental abuse of its platform,” stated Jennifer Grygiel, an assistant professor at Syracuse University who researches social media.
Clegg had hoped Wednesday’s judgment could be the ultimate phrase on Trump’s ban. Instead, the oversight board stated Facebook should discover a everlasting answer by itself, successfully kicking a remaining choice again to Facebook’s executives.
The one that Facebook stated would lead that decision-making course of? Clegg.